Tiff between Kapurthala MLA, MC chief escalates

Tribune News Service

Kapurthala, August 24

An ongoing tiff between Kapurthala MLA and firebrand Congress leader Rana Gurjeet Singh and Kapurthala Municipal Corporation Commissioner Anupam Kler has escalated, with the former asking the state government to recover the compensation amount for the next of kin of diarrhoea victims in the city from the latter’s personal bank account.

Allegations and counter-reactions are being fired from either side ever since the feud between the two had started around July end when there had been diarrhoea outbreak in the city. Former minister Rana Gurjeet Singh has been alleging that four diarrhoea deaths had occurred due to the negligence of MC Commissioner Kler over which an inquiry must be instituted against her.

Today, Rana went ahead saying: “A criminal case should be registered against Kler. She did not spend Rs 14 crore available with her on procuring suction pumps for removing sewage-mixed water. Her responsibility must be fixed. She should be made to compensate the families of the poor victims by paying Rs 5 lakh each from her personal account.”

Kler has countered Rana by saying that he was exaggerating the figures. “Only one death can be attributed to diarrhoea and everyone knows that I worked to the best of my abilities to control the spread of disease in the area,” she said.

Rana has gone ahead passing remarks against her: “The commissioner has become very high-headed. The governments can fix such officials if they want. If this government won’t take measures, we shall do that in the times to come.”

Kapurthala Municipal Corporation has a Congress-led MC House. Of the total 50 councillors, 46 are with the Congress. Rana has reportedly been using his say through the corporation, which still has over two years of term left. Rana has been alleging that Kler was not letting the minutes of the House meetings go as per the decisions taken by the councillors.

Kler denies these allegations too saying: “I try to work in the most neutral manner not siding with any parties.” Amid the tussle, Congress Mayor Kulwant Kaur, too, has started keeping away from the MC office since the past nearly two weeks and has not even been responding to any calls.

As Local Bodies Minister Balkar Singh had toured the diarrhoea-affected areas last month, Rana had pressed for inquiry against the commissioner from him even then. Balkar has since then maintained that he would make Rana and the PCS officer sit together but Rana has so far refused to budge.

Interestingly, Kler’s brothers are also politicians. Her elder brother Avinash Chander was Akali MLA from Phillaur and is now with the BJP. Her second brother Steven Kler is the Jalandhar District Convener of the ruling Aam Aadmi Party.

Notably, Rana had got into a verbal feud with IPS officer Kanwardeep Kaur during her tenure as the Kapurthala SSP in June 2021 and had even got her transferred during the Congress regime then.